The Wizard of Oz – Milton Keynes Theatre and Touring

The Wizard of Oz was reviewed at Milton Keynes Theatre where it continues until 21 July 2024. The tour continues until 11 August 2024.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

This week the Yellow Brick Road leads to Milton Keynes Theatre, as the captivating The Wizard of Oz comes to town. Starring the fab-u-lous Craig Revel Horwood as The Wicked Witch of the West, this show keeps the core of what is adored about the story while adding some modern twists to its presentation.

The Wizard of Oz follows, of course, young farm girl Dorothy (Aviva Tulley) as she struggles with feeling misunderstood in her hometown of Kansas. With only her little dog Toto (Abigail Matthews) for company, Dorothy longs to see the sights of the world, but as she prepares to run away from home, she is caught in a cyclone that transports her to the mystical land of Oz.

Here she encounters good and bad witches, the joyful munchkins and her new friends, Scarecrow (Benjamin Yates), The Tin Man (Femi Akinfolarin) and The Cowardly Lion (Nic Greenshields). On her quest to get back to her Aunt Em (Emily Bull) and Uncle Henry (Martin McCarthy), Dorothy walks the infamous Yellow Brick Road to meet The Wizard (Alex Bourne), who promises to help her, but only if she can rid the land of the evil Wicked Witch of the West.

The show is everything you could hope for from a production of The Wizard of Oz (Nikolai Foster directs). The characters that charmed in the much-loved film (1939) remain the same, as does the original score, which has a few new additions crafted by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Tulley’s stamina is impressive, as she features in nearly every scene as Dorothy. She is also on point with every line, dance move and song – the standout performance of the night. She is closely followed by her supporting trio, Yates, Akinfolarin and Greenshields. All the actors embody their characters and bring to life the quirks that make them such family favourites.

The heart of the show is the music performed by the live orchestra led by musical director Iestyn Griffiths. It gives so much depth to the performances and powers the fast-paced energy of the show. The same can be said for the costumes and puppets designed by Rachael Canning and the hair, wigs and make-up by Elizabeth Marini. Without the creative input of these teams, the magical world of Oz wouldn’t exist.

My only reservation is that the background projections play too dominant a role in setting the scenes and although effective, I wish it wasn’t relied on so heavily by touring productions. We see animation and digitalisation at every turn in our modern world, and its heavy use in shows can lead to a loss of what makes theatre productions so sacred and magical. These thoughts aside, this is a very good show that was thoroughly enjoyed by an audience of all ages. A classic must-see to add to your bucket list.

Hannah Grimmette